Penelope and Tom Thumb
by A Belle-ish Snow White
Summary: [This category need love. Based on Don Bluth's movie, and other variations of the tale.] Penelope is the daughter of Thumbelina and Cornelius, and ends up going on a journey very much the same as her mother's, but her hero comes along with her. That hero is none other than young Tom Thumb, a self-proclaimed "hero." Can these two get back to the Vale?
1. Chapter 1

Penelope and Tom Thumb  
Chapter 1: The Little Princess

Every fairy in the Vale was happy when Cornelius married Thumbelina. They were overjoyed when they heard that Thumbelina had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, who the royal couple named Penelope.

Penelope had dark red hair, like her father, and bright blue eyes, like her mother. The young princess had light pink wings, like her grandmother Tabitha. Penny, as her family called her, was a very happy child, and never asked for much. She never let being a princess make her spoiled.

When Penny was a teenager, about 16, she came to her parents and asked for one seemingly simple thing. "I want someone to love me."

King Cornelius looked at his daughter, puzzled. "What do you mean? Your mother and I love you very much."

"Your grandparents love you, too, Penny." Thumbelina added.

Princess Penelope looked down at her green dress and sighed. "I mean, I want to find someone to love me, the way you two love each other..."

"Oh..." Thumbelina looked over at her husband, seeing him rub his chin in thought. She looked back at her daughter and saw that the look on her face was similar to the one she had a long time ago. Back when she was looking in a storybook page with her mother.

Cornelius stood from his seat and said, "Penny, we will help you find love. Starting tomorrow."

Penelope looked up with a look of joy in her eyes. "Really? Oh, thank you, thank you so much!" She gave her parents a big hug and flew to her room.

Penny sat down on a chair in front of her vanity and sighed happily. She had been dreaming of finding love for a long time. She remembered her parents telling her the stroy of how they'd met, and what they had to go through before they got married.

Ever since then, Penelope had been wishing for someone to love her that strongly. She looked out the window and sighed again, sadly this time. The young red-headed royal suddenly realized that she had never been outside of the Vale before.

"What if I can't find someone special for me?" She asked herself aloud. Penny turned back to the mirror and ran a comb through her long hair, which reached just past her thighs. "I would make a good wife. I would!" She looked at herself and scoffed. "Look at you, talking to yourself like you're on sale!"

Penelope stood up and went over to her bed. Before she could lay down, she heard clattering from downstairs. "What was that?" she quietly went over to her bedroom door and gently laid her ear against it.

Hushed voices sounded from the other side. "Find the girl! Now!" a male's voice whispered harshly. Penny gasped softly, quickly covering her mouth. She looked around her room for a way to escape. The window in her room didn't open, for safety reasons, and breaking it would make too much noise.

'I'll have to chance it.' Penelope ran over to the window. Just as she had raised a lamp to break it, her door was broken into multiple pieces. She ducked in fear and turned to see a large frog in a tux standing where her bedroom door once was.

"Grab her." The frog demanded of his companions. Two more frogs, both a sickly pale green, jumped out and grabbed Penny's arms. She screamed, hoping someone would hear her. The frogs slapped their hands over her mouth as they drug her out of her room and hopped out of the castle.

The next morning, Thumbelina and Cornelius cried in front of Penny's room, having found the place in shambles. There was no sign of their beloved daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

Penelope and Tom Thumb

Chapter 2: Toads...

Penelope groaned as she sat up. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Sometime after being kidnapped, she'd passed out. The young redhead looked around, worried. She had no idea who had kidnapped her, or even what they wanted her for.

The fairy princess was sitting on a little bed that was made out of a chestnut shell. The bed was on the stage of what looked to be a boat. "Where am I?" she whispered to herself in slight panic.

Suddenly, Penelope heard footsteps coming in her direction. She watched as the frog in the tuxedo walked out with 2 toads following him. One was dressed as a clown while the smaller toad with him was dressed as a viking.

"Hello, princess." The bigger toad said. He put his hand to his chest. "I am Grundel. Your mother was supposed to marry me."

Penelope sneered as she stood up. "You liar! My parents told me about you, you nasty toad! You tried to force my mother to marry you! Then, you tried to kill my father!" She was boiling over with anger. How dare he claim to be her mother's intended groom when he had tried to force marriage upon her!

Then, she remembered something about her parent's stories. "Wait. How did you survive? My dad said that you fell off the side of the walkway and you pulled him down with you. Dad was able to fly away, but... what happened to you?"

Grundel's smirk fell. He huffed out a breath before continuing, ignoring her question. "I have brought you here to have you marry my son, Bumper." He pointed to the smaller toad with him.

Bumper smiled goofily at the fairy princess and waved. "H-hello, princess." he stammered before covering his face with his viking helmet and giggling like a love-struck fool.

Penelope frowned at his behavior. She turned back to Grundel. "Excuse me, sir, but I really need to get home. I have no intention of marrying your son." She stepped off of the bed and dusted off her green dress.

Grundel sneered deeply. "I did not give you a choice. You marry my son today."

"No, I won't." Penelope said defiantly before pushing past Grundel and Bumper. She was about to fly away, but the frog in the tuxedo grabbed her arm.

"You're not leaving that easily." He said angrily. He whistled loudly, calling out his two helpers. They hopped over and tied Penelope's wings together with vines and thread.

She struggled to free them, but they were tied tight. Then, the helper frogs tied Penelope's arms to her sides so she couldn't escape. "Hey!"

Grundel laughed triumphantly. "Now, you _will _marry my son."

"Why would I marry your son? What do _you _gain from that?" The redheaded princess asked, glaring at Grundel and trying to break out of the threads and vines.

"Since your mother won't marry me, I'll doom her only daughter to the fate she'd prevented for herself. It's the perfect revenge." Grundel smiled evilly. Then, he snapped at his frog helpers. "Take her around back. My wife will help get her dressed for the wedding."

Penelope struggled against the hold of the helpers again as they started walking away with her. "There won't be a wedding because I'm not marrying your son! Let me go! Help!" She screamed as they carried her away.

In a back room of the boat, a blonde female toad was humming 'Here Comes the Bride' in a high pitch. She looked in a little mirror as she applied a large amount of lipstick onto her lips. After making a popping noise with her mouth, she chuckled in satisfaction at her appearance.

While she was fluffing up her short, slightly curly hair, Grundel's helpers carried Penelope over to her. "Freda, here is the bride-to-be. Mr. Grundel said for you to get her ready for the wedding."

Freda squealed joyfully. She turned around and smiled at Penelope. "Of course! I have the perfect look for her." She pointed to a chair near the corner of the room. "Just set her down there.

The helpers put Penelope in the chair and left. The redhead huffed as she looked around for something to cut her bindings with. She looked at the blonde toad in the room with her. "Ma'am, please! There's been a terrible mistake. I'm not marrying your son today or ever."

Freda laughed. "Oh, nonsense. You're marrying my son today. Now, I was thinking sleeves." She prattled on to Penny about her wedding dress as the fairy princess rested her arms on her knees.

She looked down at the ground and sniffled, beginning to cry. Would she ever see her home again, her parents? Penelope put her tied wrists up to her eyes and cried.

This made Freda stop working on the dress and look at the young lady. "Poor thing... Marriage can be so stressful." She shook her head in pity as she made some final stitches on the dress. She was a very fast worker.

"Here we go. Isn't it gorgeous?" The dress had mid-length sleeves and reached the ground. It was white with sliver colored accents on the sleeves and waistline. Freda quickly put Penelope in the dress and clapped happily at her work. "Perfect! Absolutely perfect."

Penny sighed, shaking her head. She looked up, her blue eyes filled with anger. "You're not listening! I am _not _marrying your son! I don't even know anything about him, except that his name is Bumper."

Freda waved her comment off. "Oh, you can learn more about each other on your honeymoon." Penny made a confused face before sighing loudly. 'Toads...'

**Thank you to all those who posted a review on this story. I have taken your words into consideration. Also, it was shown in the end credits that Grundel supposedly found a lady frog to marry. **

**So, the next chapter will be up soon, seeing as I have nothing else to do with my time. Summer vacation still fresh and new, and I've made it through a stressful time. Anyway, thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Penelope and Tom Thumb  
Chapter 3: The Hero

A young man the size of a man's thumb strolled along with his pet mouse, whistling a happy tune. He smiled at his surroundings, glad to be out in the world. His mouse squeaked happily and nuzzled his face.

He chuckled. "I'm glad to be away from England, too, Chester." He hugged the light brown mouse next to him. Then, he hopped onto its back. "Let's get going. An adventure is bound to find us."

Then, a loud scream made Chester stop in his tracks and look around. "HELP!"

The young man put a hand on top of his brown-hair covered head. "Someone must be in trouble. Let's go find them!" He pulled on the fur on Chester's neck, turning him to the left a bit. "The scream came from this way!"

On the stage, a frog priest stood in front of Bumper and Penelope. She was squirming around in the grip of the pale green helper frogs. Bumper looked over at her with a wide smile on his face.

Grundel and his wife, Freda, looked on in pride. Their son was finally getting married, even if it was for Grundel's revenge plan. Freda smiled happily, looking forward to being able to have a daughter-in-law to talk to and dress up.

However, Grundel looked forward to seeing the sad look on Thumbelina's face when he brought his son and Penelope to them for a final visit. After that, he would make sure that the fairy princess would never see her family again.

Penelope kicked around as the frog priest cleared his throat. "Do you, Bumper, take Princess Penelope to be your wife?"

"I do!" Bumper yelled excitedly.

The priest nodded, and then turned to the struggling fairy. She frowned at him. "Do you, Princess Penelope, take Bumper to be your husband?"

"Never!" She shouted angrily. She yanked her bound hands away when Bumper tried to hold them. "I'm very sorry, but I don't know anything about you. I can't possibly marry you." she said to the young toad.

Bumper looked sadly at the ground for a moment, thinking over what Penelope had just said. Then, he turned to his father. "Papa, you said she'd say 'yes!' Why didn't she say 'yes?!'"

"I just told you!" Penelope yelled in exasperation.

Just then, the brunette boy rode by on his mouse. He looked and saw that the trouble was on an old boat. He nodded in determination. He hopped off of Chester and started hopping on the lily-pads over to the boat.

Everyone was too busy with the wedding to notice him. The brunette hopped onto the stage and cleared his throat. "It looks to me that this young lady could use a hero!" He stood, straight and tall, as he spoke in his strong British accent.

Penelope blinked in surprise. "Who are you?"

"I am Tom Thumb! A brave hero from England." He exclaimed proudly. Tom looked at the family of toads and frowned. "You all need to learn some manners. If the young lady says she doesn't want to get married, you've no right to force her."

Grundel puffed out his chest. "Who are you to talk to me like that? I suggest you leave now before there's trouble." He glowered at Tom.

Chuckling lightly, Tom patted his side, as if making sure something was there. "That's nice of you, to suggest that. But, I have means to protect myself."

Grundel snapped his fingers. Then, he and his helper frogs were surrounding Tom. While Bumper hopped over to help his father, Penelope looked to make sure everyone was too busy worrying about Tom. She sneakily made her way over to Chester, who had swam over to the boat.

The brown mouse bit through the thread and vines on Penny's wrists, being careful not to accidentally bite the princess. Penelope smiled warmly and gently pet Chester's head.

"Thank you. Let's get to the shore while Tom's fighting them off." She said, looking back at Tom Thumb as he fought off the frogs. She climbed onto Chester's back and reached back to untie her wings as the mouse swam back to shore.

Tom smirked at the frogs as he held a small dagger in front of him in defense. "Come on. Show me what you've got." he challenged. When one of the helpers jumped to grab him, Tom leaned down close to the ground, dodging the frog.

He leaned back up and sweep-kicked Grundel and Bumper. Freda and the frog priest watched in shock. Tom grabbed some old vines that were hanging from the roof of the stage and hog-tied Grundel and Bumper.

The brunette ran over to the edge of the stage and hopped onto the back of his faithfully awaiting mouse. He turned back to Freda and the priest. "Don't come after us! Or... I'll be forced to actually use this." He waved his dagger at them.

Chester swam back to shore and carried Tom Thumb a good distance away from the boat. Tom jumped off of his mouse's back and looked around. "W-where's the young lady?" he asked Chester. Chester squeaked a few times and trotted over to a few blades of grass that were folded over each other in a way.

Penelope slowly came out from behind the grass and gave Tom a small smile. "Thank you for saving me."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all." Tom said, grinning. He held his hand out to her. "I'm Tom Thumb."

Penny laughed a bit. "So you said before." She shook his hand. "I'm Penelope."

The brunette boy nodded, blushing slightly from embarrassment. He thought that Penelope was very beautiful and kind, which made him want to make sure she returned home safely. "So, Penelope, where is your house?"

"Oh, I live in the Vale of the Fairies." She answered almost immediately. The 2 started walking as Chester scampered along behind them.

"'Vale of the Fairies?'" Tom questioned. Then, he looked and saw Penelope's wings. "Oh. What happened to your wings?" He could see that they had been damaged.

Penny frowned. "Those frogs weren't too careful with them when they tied me up. Now, I can't even fly." She crossed her arms and pouted.

Tom covered his mouth to muffle his chuckling. She looked like a child that was put in time-out. But, he recomposed himself and responded. "I'm sorry. But, I'm sure Chester wouldn't mind carrying you on his back when you get tired of walking." Chester squeaked in agreement.

The fairy princess smiled back at the brown mouse before turning back to the young man next to her. "Do you know where the Vale is? I remember you said that you were from England."

"Sure. I've been in France a while now. I can... find it." Tom said, hesitating a bit.

"'Find' it?" Penny questioned. She raised an eyebrow at him. "So, you don't know where it is?"

"I'm sure I'll know it when I see it..." Tom looked around. "But, we should probably stop and ask for directions. Just in case we've started in the opposite direction."

Tom smiled sheepishly at the redhead, earning him a semi-glare. Penelope was beginning to believe that she wouldn't see her home for a long time if this man was to be her 'hero.'


	4. Chapter 4

Penelope and Tom Thumb  
Chapter 4: Prayer

Princess Penelope watched Tom as he practiced some sparing moves. She looked back at her wings and sighed sadly. They were still bent at the base where they connected to her back and there were a few rips in them. She hoped that they would heal soon.

Penny smiled as Chester nuzzled her in an attempt to comfort her. She hugged the brown mouse's head gently. "Thanks, Chester." The mouse squeaked happily.

Tom looked up in alarm. Hushed voices could be heard as some grass rustled nearby. The brunette backed away from it and stood protectively in front of Penelope. "Be wary. We've got company..."

Then, 3 insects stepped into view. A bee, a gnat, and a bug of some kind. Penny perked up at the sight of them. "Gnatty! Baby Bug! Li'l Bee!" She smiled brightly and ran to hug them.

"Princess!" They all ran to give the redhead a group hug.

Tom and Chester shared a confused glance before the brunette spoke up. "Alright, what is going on here? Who are they?" He pointed his sword at the group of bugs.

Penelope used the tip of her finger to gently push Tom's sword away from Gnatty, Li'l Bee, and Baby Bug. "Tom, these are my friends. They helped my mother when she was younger." She turned and introduced them to her new companions. "Guys, this is Tom Thumb and his riding mouse, Chester. They're going to help me get back home."

Gnatty scratched the back of his head. "What do you mean, 'get back home?'"

"That nasty toad, Grundel, stole me away from the Vale." Penny grimaced at the memory of the toad and his awkward son. "He was trying to get me to marry his son."

Baby Bug gasped fearfully. "Grundel? He's back?!"

"How did he survive?" Li'l Bee asked.

Penelope shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't tell me. But, I don't really care, as long as he and his son stay away from me." She crossed her arms and sat down a nearby pebble.

"Penelope, we should really get -" Tom was interrupted by the sounds of wings flapping. The group looked up, but there weren't any birds flying overhead. "What on Earth was-" The wings were heard again.

"Maybe it's the fairies from the Vale!" Penelope gasped hopefully, clapping her hands together happily.

Then, a large swarm of hornets flew above them all. All the happiness inside of the fairy princess at that moment disappeared, and was instantly replaced with fear and panic. The swarm flew down to them and circled them quickly. The group was forced to huddle together to keep away from the hornets' stingers.

Tom swung his sword at the invading pests as quickly as he could. But, a hornet got too close and its stinger nicked Tom's arm. He hissed in pain and fell back into the group. Chester squeaked loudly in fear and worry for his master.

"Tom!" Penny tried to get over to him, but the swarm had begun to change their direction of flying. Now, instead of a steady circle, they were weaving through the group and had separated Tom, Chester, and Li'l Bee from Gnatty, Baby Bug, and Penelope.

The princess screamed when she saw how far apart she and her 2 friends were from the others. "Tom! Li'll Bee! Chester!"

Baby Bug gasped and pointed at the sky. "Look!" The small group of 3 looked up and saw that a very large hornet that was wearing a crown was motioning to the smaller hornets to follow her.

The swarm broke into 3 large groups, each group carrying someone from off the ground. Penelope jerked around in a failed attempt to free herself. Then, she noticed how far off the ground she was. If the hornets _did _let her go now, she would plummet to the ground and easily get injured. Defeated, she allowed the hornets to carry her and her friends off to wherever they were going.

Meanwhile, Queen Thumbelina sighed sadly as she sat on the edge of her bed. She and King Cornelius had sent out messengers and groups of fairies to look for their daughter. All of them had came back saying the same thing: "We couldn't find her..."

Thumbelina was beginning to believe that she would never see her daughter again. She walked over to the window of her bedroom and stared at the sky. She then remembered her mother telling her about a greater being watching over everyone, making sure that everybody was safe and sound.

So, she knelt down, clasped her hands together, and began praying. "Please, wherever my daughter is... Let her at least be safe. Even if she never finds her way back to the Vale of the Fairies... She's never been outside of the Vale before." Thumbelina paused a moment, wiping a tear from her eye. "Watch over her, please..."

The fairy queen hoped that Penelope would find her way back to the Vale. But, even if she didn't, Thumbelina hoped that her child would find happiness in some other place. Thumbelina stood up and flew out to the fairy court. She found her husband, who was talking with some more messengers. "Have they found anything? Did they find Penny?"

Cornelius sighed, shaking his head. "No. But, they did find this." He handed his wife a piece of paper. Thumbelina read it and gasped. The paper was an announcement for all the pond residents to come to the celebration of the wedding of Bumper and Princess Penelope.

"Bumper? Who is that?" Thumbelina asked the messenger fairy.

The messenger paused a moment, then answered. "He is the son of Grundel."

Cornelius and Thumbelina both gasped. The fairy king's hands clenched into fists as his queen covered her mouth in an attempt to contain her sobs. "He made Penny marry his son?!" Cornelius asked, anger flooding his voice.

The blonde messenger cowered slightly at the king's tone. He regained his composure and cleared his throat. "I'm not sure, but we were able to find Grundel's old family boat."

Thumbelina wiped her eyes quickly and held onto her husband's arm. "Take us there. Now, please." she said, her voice strong with determination. As they flew out of the Vale, Queen Thumbelina stayed silent, her thoughts completely focused on her daughter. _'We'll find you, Penny. Don't worry.'_


	5. Chapter 5

Penelope and Tom Thumb  
Chapter 5: A New Friend, An Old Enemy

Tom slowly opened his eyes, having woken up from his recent fainting. He looked down at his arm and saw that it was bandaged up. "What in the world?" he gasped, starting to sit up. Then, he felt someone push him back down.

"You'll need yer strength if you're goin' to rescue the princess."

The brunette looked to his side and saw a large, dark blue rolly-polly. The beetle was wearing a large black top-hat that looked rather old. He was also wearing a black dress jacket. The rolly-polly tipped his hat to Tom Thumb and declared, "The name's Rolland Poller."

Just then, Li'l Bee poked his head into the room. "Can I come in, Mr. Poller?" When Rolland nodded, Li'l Bee rushed into the room and grabbed firmly onto Tom's shoulders. "You have to save Penelope!"

"What? What do you mean? Where is she?!" Tom began to sit up in the leaf-constructed bed he was in.

Rolland intervened and gently shoved Tom back down. He sat Li'l Bee in a chair beside him. "Settle yerselves down, now. Don't get excited." He clapped his hand onto Li'l Bee's back, surprising the young bee slightly. "Li'l Bee 'ere's been tellin' me bout yer run-in wit' the hornets."

Tom nodded slowly. "Li'l Bee, what happened to Princess Penelope?"

"She, Gnatty, and Baby Bug got carried away." He replied, looking down in dismay. He looked up at the brunette with small tears in his eyes. "I'm worried about them, Tom. Who knows what those hornets have done to them?"

Rolland dismissed Li'l Bee's comment with a wave of his hand. "Them hornets ain't viscous. Not 'til you cross 'em. Yer friends'll be fine as long as they do as they're told."

Tom's face paled. "That could be a problem..."

"Why is that, now?" The rolly-polly asked, groaning as he lifted himself from his seat.

"As long as the hornets don't try to force her to marry anyone, she should be okay." Tom told him as Rolland grabbed a cup of water for him.

Meanwhile, Grundel was being interrogated about the princess's whereabouts. "Where is my daughter?" King Cornelius asked him with a glare.

The large toad said nothing. He only glared at the fairy couple in front of him.

Cornelius' glare deepened. "If you don't tell us where Penelope is, you and your son will be charged for kidnapping!"

When Grundel continued to stay silent, Thumbelina stepped in. "Please, Grundel. We're begging you. Think of how you would feel if someone kidnapped Bumper." She inwardly smiled when she saw Grundel's face flash an expression of worry and dread. "As a parent, you can understand how worried we are."

Grundel nodded slowly. Then, he smirked. "I won't tell you."

Thumbelina suddenly grabbed the collar of Grundel's clothes and shook him violently. "TELL ME WHERE MY BABY IS!" Cornelius and the fairy messenger had to pry her hands off of the toad to keep her from choking the life out of him. Grundel stumbled backward, gasping for breath.

No one had expected the queen to blow up like she had. Thumbelina took a few deep breaths, smoothed out her skirts and bodice, and turned away from everyone. She, then, fell to her knees and began sobbing.

Cornelius turned to Grundel's wife and their son, Bumper. "Would either of you happen to know where our daughter went?"

"She left me!" Bumper whined. "She left with that Tom guy and his mouse! She was supposed to be _my_ wife! But, she left me!"

"Where did they go?" The fairy king asked, made slightly uncomfortable by the young toad's rambling.

Freda stepped in. "They went off somewhere over there. The young man that took her had a sword, you should be careful. But, please, let my husband go?" She asked kindly.

Cornelius pulled out his sword and cut loose the ropes around Grundel's wrists. The toad went over to his family and sat beside them. Cornelius went over to his wife and rubbed her back affectionately. "It's okay, Thumbelina. We'll find them, don't worry."

Thumbelina turned toward him and hugged him tightly. "What if we don't find her in time? What if something bad happens to her?"

"She's going to be just fine. We're going to find her and bring her home."

At that time, the hornets were placing Penelope, Gnatty, and Baby Bug in individual, cramped spaces in their large nest. Once they were in place, the hornets just left them there. Baby Bug turned her head to look at her friends, who were on either side of her. "Hey! Are you two okay?!"

"I'm fine." Gnatty answered quickly. He tried to look around Baby Bug to look at Princess Penelope. "Princess, are you okay?"

Penny sniffled and choked back some sobs. She held her head down and felt her shoulders hunch upward with every sob, since the rest of her body was too confound to move. "Tom..." she whispered.

Baby Bug looked to her right at the princess. "What?"

"Tom... What if he's dead?" Penelope's hair fell over her face. "He got cut on a hornet's stinger. What if he dies from it? He can't die!" The young fairy stopped trying to talk and just cried. She honestly didn't want Tom to be dead. Not only because he'd saved her, but because he was a good person, and she had grown to think of him as a friend.

'If he's dead because of me, I'll never forgive myself.' Penny silently vowed to herself.


End file.
